C-Suite Reshufflings and LBOs

Welcome back Food Junglers. This week has been plagued by Trumpian reform, as well as tariffs left-right-and-centre. Still, that hasn’t stopped M&A deals from slowing down. Let’s dig in.

THE BREAKDOWN…

Starbucks Firing: Starbucks said it would lay off 1,100 corporate employees and not fill hundreds of open roles, part of new Chief Executive Brian Niccol’s effort to streamline operations.

Legal Settlement: DoorDash to pay $16.8 million to workers for pocketing their tips.

Private Equity Buyout: Private-equity firm Roark Capital is in advanced talks to acquire Dave’s Hot Chicken for roughly $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Farming Lawsuit: American organic farmers and environmental groups sued the Agriculture Department over its scrubbing of references to climate change from its website.

Pizza Earnings: Domino’s expects third-party delivery to be $1 billion sales driver. The pizza chain’s partnership with Uber Eats represented 3% of sales last year, and Domino’s is pursuing additional delivery aggregator deals.

C-Suite Re-Shuffle: Unilever has announced that Hein Schumacher is stepping down as CEO after less than a year in the role and will be replaced by Fernando Fernandez, the current chief financial officer.

Doughnut Earnings: Krispy Kreme is guiding for higher organic sales this year after a cyberattack ate into its fourth-quarter growth, though shares dropped after the outlook missed Wall Street estimates.

French Dairy: Danone ended last year on a high note, with reported fourth-quarter revenue growth beating market expectations amid increasing demand for its products in North America.

Ice Cream Buy Back: The founders of Ben & Jerry’s have expressed interest in buying back their namesake ice cream brand from Unilever Plc, according to people familiar with the matter.

Plant-Based Meat: Beyond Meat plans to lay off 6% of its workforce and suspend operations in China to reduce operational expenses following two years of declining sales.

Corner Store Debacle: The founding family of 7-Eleven’s Japanese parent company has failed to secure the money to buy it out months after they launched a bid worth over $50 billion to fend off a foreign takeover.

Pork Producer: Danish Crown is set to shut down its operations in Pinghu, near Shanghai, China, following a strategic review, putting 112 jobs at risk.

CHART OF THE WEEK: